Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon academy was not in a very good mood. He can't remember the last time he was genuinely happy. It was many many lifetimes ago, back when he was still happily married with his children. But that was so long ago that he doesn't even remember their names.

In front of him, in a comatose state is the current Fall Maiden, Amber. She was attacked and badly wounded earlier this week. Thankfully she survived due to the efforts of an associate of his that was keeping an eye on her, but it was a close thing. Half of her powers had been stolen and she would likely never wake up unless the other half was returned.

He could almost feel the pain that the young girl was in. The scar around her left eye was still pink and likely very painful.

Ding

The familiar chime of an elevator door opening sounded from behind the immortal. He didn't need to turn around as he already knew who it was.

"No change?" Asked Qrow Branwen with a full flask in hand.

"I'm afraid not, half of her soul was torn out of her body. I don't see any way to wake her up besides reuniting the two halves." Ozpin said with a look of sadness visible behind his glasses. How could something so terrible happen to such a kindhearted young lady? Why would someone kill another human being for something so meaningless as power?

They would all die regardless of power.

They all lose it in the end.

Qrow took a long swig from his flask before speaking. "What do we do from here?" Qrow asked simply

"For now, we need to find a suitable host for the Maiden's powers. James is currently working on a device capable of transferring someone's Aura into another. If we can get that device working, then we might be able to save this half of the Maiden's powers." It wasn't very humane, to tear someone's soul out of their body, but it's not like they had much choice. It's either that or lose the powers. The choice was obvious.

"Any ideas? Are there any special students enrolling in Beacon this year." Qrow asked with hope.

"There are a few," Ozpin replied. "The invincible girl Pyrrha Nikos is applying, also your niece Yang is quite strong. I'm considering both of them."

Qrow nodded in response. "I don't want Yang involved in all this shit, but I think she's going to be one way or another. At the very least, we can make sure she's prepared for what's to come." The fear was clear on his face. He didn't want to risk an untested procedure on his niece, but if Yang chose to go through with it then there isn't much he can do.

"I hear you've been training Summer's daughter as well. She uses a Scythe as you do, am I correct?" Ozpin asked with curiosity

"Yeah, and she's much stronger than I was at her age too. Summer's death really got to her, ever since then, she's been working on trying to make her proud. She studies until she can't keep her eyes open and trains until her legs turn to jelly. I really admire that about her, but I make sure to let her know how important rest is too. She's already made me so proud, and I'm positive Summer would be too."

"I'm glad she's so dedicated, I'll be happy to have her in Beacon when she graduates," Ozpin responded with a small smile.

"Are you considering choosing her for the Maidens powers?"

Ozpin's expression morphed into one that Qrow couldn't identify. Something between confusion and curiosity mixed with sadness. "I can't explain it," Ozpin began, "but I've given maiden powers to silver-eyed warriors in the past. I figured that the might of their magic mixed with their ability to purify, would make them a fearsome opponent."

A wave of sorrow washed over Ozpin's features. "I was right, they were incredibly powerful. But every single time I have ever given the maiden's powers to a silver-eyed warrior, they die in less than a week. They fall into a coma in a few days and have a heavy fever before succumbing to their illness. Their bodies can't handle the burden of both powers at once."

"Maybe that's for the best, she's already been through so much, I wouldn't want to give her any more responsibility." Qrow sighed.

"You've been through a lot to Qrow, maybe you should get some rest, take a day off to be with your family." Ozpin requested

It took a minute for Qrow to respond. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, I might just take you up on that."

"Thanks for all your hard work, I'll call you when I need something done."

The elevator ascended with Qrow in tow, leaving Ozpin alone once again with his own thoughts.

"Just what are you planning Salem?"


Ruby was quite excited today, today she would be purchasing materials to construct her first-ever Super Suit. She had the design all set and she took her new measurements this morning. All that was left was to purchase the materials and construct her costume. The costume was mostly red and black, with the exception of the web pattern that lined the red potions of the suit which were white. The eyes would be white too, with plastic lenses with chrome covering that allowed Ruby to see out without allowing anyone to see in.

The material had to be comfortable and tight, a loose costume would just get in the way, and someone could grab it much easier. But it also had to be comfortable so she could use it for long periods of time.

Spandex.

It was perfect, a tight suit that was breathable and comfortable. She could always throw some baby powder in the suit to prevent chafing if such a thing was necessary. She would also need to buy extra spandex in case she messed up.

After purchasing the materials and heading home, Ruby quickly got to work. There was an old sewing machine in the attic that was surprisingly still functional. First up was the mask, this was the single most important part of the whole costume, this would be what protected her identity from nefarious evildoers. She also had to make it thin enough to breathe through.

After about 2 hours the mask was completed, it was perfect, breathable, cool, non-obstructive, cool, intimidating, cool, had she mentioned cool yet? The mask was AWESOME!

"Ok, I'd like to test my abilities some more before I go out to fight crime. Where's my camera?" After locating her camera, Ruby quickly dashed to the dump once more to test her abilities.

Ruby never tested the limits to her speed, she knew that she could run 3 miles in 2 minutes, but that was just a light jog How fast could she be if she didn't hold back? Time to test her speed.

Ruby got into a stance and counted down. "3...2...1...GO!" Ruby dashed forward as quickly as possible, her hair flowing in the breeze, everything around her looked like it was going in slow motion. In about 90 seconds, she arrived at her destination. She wasn't even winded either, she could easily keep going. "Ok let's see, 5 miles in 90 seconds, that's about 200 miles per hour. I'm definitely faster than I was when I used my semblance, with careful training I could combine my spider speed with my semblance."

Testing her webs was very important, they were great for mobility assuming they could support her weight, her idea was to swing through the city with these webs and use them to bind criminals. But if the webs weren't strong enough to support her weight then she'd just fall to the ground, and criminals could easily get away.

Fiddling with her hands for a moment revealed that the way to discharge her webbing was by pressing two fingers to her palm. Doing so would release a long string of webbing from her wrist that would stick to any surface she was aiming at. The force she applied to her palm would change how her webbing was discharged, a soft press would release it as a sort of net, which is perfect for catching criminals, a medium press would release a long line of web, and a hard press would release a viscous goop of webbing. This would also have to be taken into consideration while making her costume, she'd have to add holes on her wrist so the webbing could pass through.

Fortunately, her webbing seemed to be able to handle her weight as well as the multiple tons of metal that she hung from it. She wouldn't have to worry about it breaking.

Fire is very ineffective against her webbing. Igniting a bunch of fire dust did little more than blacken the webbing, it lost none of its strength. However, due to the limited nature of this test, results could change if someone had a powerful fire semblance that could easily melt her webbing. Only time will tell.

Ice is very effective. Ice dust made the webbing extremely brittle, allowing it to shatter very easily. It should handle cold temperatures just fine, as long as it's nothing extreme.

Electricity is very effective, with a dangerous side effect. It turns out that her webs are very conductive. She'd have to be careful not to use her webbing on any damaged live wires or else she would get a shocking wake-up call. She'd have to keep this in mind when catching criminals.

Blades are effective. Sharp objects could easily slice through the webs, though it was probably so easy because of her overwhelming strength and the fact that she used Crescent Rose to test it. A normal person with a kitchen knife wouldn't be able to do much.

Water, ineffective, her webs lost none of their strength or stickiness while underwater. She could use this to temporarily repair damaged water lines if she needed to.

Brute strength, ineffective, punching and kicking her webs did absolutely nothing, though if the webs were stretched enough then they would snap. Someone would have to be incredibly strong in order to break her webbing, even then it would take a while.

Another problem was making sure that enemies could breathe through her webs. If she covered someone's mouth and they couldn't breathe, then she would quickly become a murderer. Fortunately, the webs were thin enough that air could pass through without a problem. Enemies should be able to breathe just fine just as long as she didn't overdo it.

She quickly realized that her webbing didn't last forever, it lasted about a week, which was more than enough time. This was actually a good thing, she didn't want to make the city a mess with her webs and she didn't want to trap criminals forever. They would just dissolve after long enough.

She also didn't have an infinite amount of webbing, after a few hours of web tests, she couldn't produce anymore. After a few days, she realized that plenty of water and lots of starchy foods were the perfect ways to resupply her webbing. But she had a lot of it, so unless she was actively trying to run out, then she would have more than enough to last her. But this meant she got to eat lots of potato chips and French fries. Yay!

Her wall-crawling was extremely useful. This was a power that needed to be mastered very quickly, luckily it was very easy to use. All that was required was for her to tense her fingers and toes to grip any surface. But there was a problem, her feet refused to stick to anything when she had shoes on, as well as her hands with gloves. She needed to make the souls of her costume thin enough for her to be able to stick. The fingertips on her gloves had to be pretty thin too.

Her strength was something extremely special. After webbing a bunch of heavy machines and scrap metal together to lift, she approached the limit of her strength. She could lift about 15 tons before struggling! In terms of physical strength, this easily made her one of the strongest people on the planet, although someone with an extremely powerful strength-enhancing semblance might be stronger.

Her most useful ability by far was her sixth sense, or as Ruby called it, her 'Spider-Sense.' If Ruby could only keep one of her abilities then she would absolutely choose the Spider-Sense. As far as she could tell, it alerted her of oncoming danger. During combat classes at Signal, the Spider-Sense would be fast enough to allow her to dodge rapid gunfire. But the Spider-Sense didn't allow her to dodge automatically. She would have to go through the motions herself. She could also expand the range and intensity of her Spider-Sense subconsciously. If she was fighting multiple people at once then this would prove useful.

It also worked in less dangerous situations. Like if she was about to drink expired milk then it would go off to warn her. Once she even forgot to set her alarm for school and the Spider-Sense woke her up. AWESOME!

The Spider-Sense is activated as a tingling sensation in the back of her skull, depending on how severe the danger she was facing then it would actually start to hurt. But it only hurt when she had it pushed too hard so that shouldn't be a big problem. But she loved her Spider-Sense.

Her agility was really odd. Her body had undergone a massive transformation when she was bitten, giving her muscles beyond her wildest dreams. You'd think this would make her agility suffer because of her larger frame. Nope, not even close. She was still small, it wasn't like the bite had made her taller or anything, but her body was somehow even more agile than ever, she could bend twist, flip, spin, crawl, and dodge all much better than before. It was like her joints were all slathered in butter, the fluidity of her movements was amazing.

Despite all the incredible feats of acrobatics, she found it basically impossible to get dizzy. It was like her body knew how to right itself despite her flips and spins.

Her eyeballs were basically binoculars now. She can see clearly from a mile away, she would never need glasses for as long as she lived now. Not to mention her night vision and incredible hearing.

Her sense of smell had increased too, this was both good and bad. She could smell if someone was bleeding from far enough away, but she could also smell the trash everywhere. Yuk!

"Time to finish my super suit."


It was beautiful. After many many hours and many many mistakes, she had done it, she had successfully constructed her first super suit. She was eager to try it on, she was all ready to use her power for good.

After slipping into the suit she walked over to the mirror. The suit fit perfectly, it hugged her body tight enough to be non-obstructive yet loose enough to not cut off circulation. The red complemented the black perfectly. She could use her webbing and crawl on walls while inside of it. But most importantly of all, she looked absolutely AWESOME!

Ruby couldn't help the wide smile that crept its way onto her lips. "Yes! It's exactly what I wanted! Tonight I test my powers in the field. Tonight is my debut!"

"Now all I need is a hero name, maybe I'll wait till the public comes up with one for me, oh, I also need a slogan, but that can wait. Now I need to wait until it's late so I can sneak out. I'll grab a bite to eat in the meantime."

Quickly changing into her pajamas, Ruby ran downstairs to get a snack, only to discover Yang watching the television. "Sup Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm? Oh hey, Rubes, apparently there's been a lot of dust thefts going on lately, they don't even take the money, only the dust." Yang said with curiosity.

"What could someone need so much dust for? If they go out of their way to get the dust and leave the money then what's the point?" Ruby questioned

Hmm...I should look into this while patrolling, maybe I'll catch the one responsible. I just hope I'm not in over my head.

"Do you think you're ready for Beacon?" Ruby asked her sister. She knew that Yang had been training hard, but Yang was always so much stronger than her. Not anymore, Ruby could snap Yang in half now.

"I hear the competition's pretty tough this year, but I'll definitely get in. I'm already the strongest in my year at Signal, Beacon should be no problem for me." Yang replied with confidence. Ruby knew she would get in, Yang was at the top of her class already.

I'll easily be top of the entire school when I join Beacon, although maybe I should be just below that so I don't draw attention.

"I'm heading to sleep, night sis," Ruby said as she began to walk away.

"Hold up Ruby, I gotta ask you something," Yang said before Ruby could walk away.

"What's up, is something wrong?"

"I'm just worried," Yang admitted. "Will you be okay without me in signal? I know you like to avoid confrontation, but if someone is picking on you and I'm not there to protect you, will you be okay? I know you get bullied a little, it's not hard to spot when you come home with those sad eyes. I just want to know that you won't need me to help you when I leave for Beacon."

It was true that Ruby got bullied in Signal, with Yang gone there would definitely be more bullying because the main reason why some bullies backed off is because her sister is so strong. Without Yang there, then bullies would definitely feel more confident. It's not like she can just use her new powers to beat them up either. With great power, comes great responsibility. She wouldn't abuse the gift she had been given.

"I'll be fine Yang," Ruby assured her sister. "I'm already plenty strong, so I'll be able to defend myself with no problem. Besides, I'll need to defend myself sooner or later, it's not like the bullies are stronger than me. Don't sacrifice your happiness for me."

Yang gave her sister a soft smile. "Okay, just making sure, I trust you, Rubes. If you find yourself in trouble just try to remember what I would do."

"Your first thought would be, 'how could I most effectively kill this person?' I think I'll pass on that." Ruby snickered

Yang chuckled along with her sister. "Love you, Ruby," Yang said as she hugged her sister tightly.

"Love you more Yang"


It's time.

It's finally time.

Ruby stared at her mask, wondering if she should really go through with this crazy idea. She could just hide her abilities and pretend nothing happened. She doesn't have to risk her neck like this. She would be actively fighting against the law, she was in the wrong. But she was given these abilities for a reason.

The choice was obvious.

After slipping into her costume, Ruby jumped out the window and ran toward Vale. This would be her first night as a vigilante, this moment could make or break her. This was quite possibly the most important moment of her life.

After quickly dashing to Vale Ruby decided that now was the best time to practice her web-swinging. There were never any tall buildings in Patch, and she obviously couldn't swing in broad daylight, so she'd have to test it now.

After quickly climbing a tall building Ruby looked over the edge and started to tremble.

"I-I've only been this high once before, and back then I didn't intend to plummet to the ground. Don't be a baby Ruby, you've got this." Aiming her hand at a nearby building she let loose a line of sticky spider silk.

THWIP

She wrapped her fingers around the web as soon as it attached itself to an adjacent building. She felt the line go taunt in her grip and wrapped her other hand around it for extra support.

Ruby was shaking, she was sweating profusely, and she felt like she would pass out at any moment. She didn't move for the longest time, afraid of what would happen if she screwed this up.

"Just gotta take a leap of faith," Ruby said to herself.

She jumped.

She quickly plummeted to the ground before her web line went stiff, and the laws of physics kicked in as she swung upwards straight toward a closed window. Quick reflexes and her Spider-Sense saved her as she let go and shot another line to a building to the left and yanked herself out of the way.

Before she crashed into a brick wall, Ruby shot another web line out of her right hand which changed her course enough to swing down the middle of the street.

"So far so good."

Ruby shot another web line higher onto a building and pulled hard on it to gain some extra height. She once again underestimated her strength and launched herself high above the buildings and leaving her with nothing to latch a web on.

"Too high! Too high!"

Ruby waited a few seconds for gravity to kick in before she plummeted to her certain death. Unfortunately for the Grim Reaper, Ruby saved herself with another strategically placed web line on another building which turned her body into a pendulum and swung her upward to safety.

"WHOOOOHOOOOO!" Ruby yelled with euphoria. "This is amazing! It's like I'm flying!" Feeling confident in herself, Ruby started performing spins and flips in midair. Swinging was so liberating, the wind on her face and nothing but open skies.

Several bystanders quickly took notice of the masked stranger swinging through their city. All of them gaped in awe at what they were witnessing. Several of them took pictures and videos of the new hero.

"This isn't so hard after all."

Once again, Ruby pulled too hard on the webbing but this time it was intentional. She soared high above the buildings and got a clear beautiful view of the night sky. The stars twinkled with all the beauty of a million lights dotting the vast expanse of the cosmos while the cool crisp night air flowed gently around her small body.

Ruby couldn't help it, her face lit up like a thousand suns, and her eyes sparkled with delight. Her laughter was infectious, and it filled the night sky with a warm, joyful energy that made everyone below her feel happy too.

Her laughter was not just a sound, but a physical expression of pure, unbridled joy. It started in her belly, bubbled up through her chest, and burst forth from her lips in a series of uncontrollable, melodic giggles.

Her head tilted back, and her mouth opened wide as the laughter continued to pour out of her. It was a full-bodied laugh that shook her entire frame, as she threw her arms forward and ejected two more strands of sticky spider silk.

Ruby gently shifted her weight to slow her descent. The web quickly slowed and eventually halted her momentum before she clung to the building and began to rapidly ascend the structure.

The building was a good 50 feet tall. After reaching the top, Ruby was surprised to find that she no longer trembled at the sight of the hard ground below her, instead, she looked up to the open skies and felt nothing but excitement at the thought of exploring the city from the higher altitude.

Rapidly backing away from the edge of the building, Ruby got a running start before she coiled every muscle in her legs and launched herself as far and as fast as she could off the edge of the tall building. The result was her flying far above the surrounding buildings. I should totally add web wings to my suit! That'll make gliding so much easier! Maybe I can infuse my suit with gravity dust to fly or something.

Her Spider-Sense interrupted her own thoughts, alerting her to the rapidly approaching pavement below. Reacting with fluidity and grace, Ruby shot a web line at the corner of a building to her right. The result was her being whipped around, rapidly changing the direction she was swinging. Reaching the peak of her swing, Ruby allowed gravity to take hold of her once more before firing a web toward a tall building directly in front of her and pulling with all her might to launch herself directly to the top.

"What a RUSH!" Ruby said out loud. Her heart was beating so fast it might explode. Ruby took a seat on the edge of the building, taking a moment to calm down her frantically beating heart. The night sky never looked so beautiful. Her enhanced vision does wonders in improving the beauty of the stars.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Ruby examined the street and its inhabitants below her. It was late so there weren't a lot of people. There were a couple of homeless people sleeping in groups and the occasional car or two that drove by, but otherwise, it was very peaceful. Maybe I won't need to stop crime tonight, everything just seems like everyone is minding their business.

Ruby climbed to her feet and got ready to swing away.

BZZT!

Spider-Senses tingling! Where is it? Quickly spinning around to locate the source of danger, Ruby discovered that there was no one behind her preparing an attack. What she did see however was a giant plume of black smoke rising out of a tall apartment building. Oh...OH SHI-

Ruby didn't allow herself to finish thinking as she jumped off the building and rapidly approached the burning apartment. "Oh man, this is actually happening! What if I mess it up and get someone or myself killed?!" There were a dozen scenarios going on in her mind about possible ways she could screw this up, but she never once slowed down. Perching on the corner of a nearby building, Ruby quickly formed a plan.

Ok, there are Fire Fighters already on the scene, but they can't get in and out nearly as fast as I can. There are a couple of ambulances here tending to lightly wounded civilians, and of course, there are news vans here probably wanting to cash in on a disaster. If I can rescue anyone from there then I can drop them off at the ambulance. The only problem is being able to locate the trapped survivors, my Spider-Sense told me the building was on fire even though I wasn't in danger, so I guess it alerts me if others near me are in danger too. Maybe I can use it to find anyone still trapped. I'm willing to bet that anyone on the lower floors already escaped, so I'll start from the top and work my way down to ensure I save as many as possible.

Not wasting another second, Ruby quickly shot two lines of sticky spider web at the building and pulled herself at super speeds directly into a closed window.

SMASH

Glass shattering upon impact, Ruby quickly found it hard to breathe in the blazing inferno, but she wasn't deterred. She found herself in a bathroom that was devoid of any civilians. She knew it was a bad idea to grab a metal doorknob in a burning building, so she decided on the next best thing. Gripping the floor with one foot, Ruby lifted her other foot and launched it into the door. The door didn't stand a chance, immediately buckling and exploding outwards into what once was a well-furnished living room.

Instead what remained was exactly what she expected. The walls were completely covered in red-hot fire, the ceiling was collapsing, the furniture was up in flames, and she could barely breathe.

Ok, gotta find survivors, common Spider-Sense, don't fail me now. Closing her eyes and expanding her incredible danger-sensing ability, it buzzed harder when she focused on a door to her left. Not wasting a moment, she dashed toward the door and rammed her shoulder into the barrier. Wood splintered and exploded upon contact leaving her in what appeared to be a bedroom. Scanning the area for anyone that needed help, she discovered a woman in her mid-30s with a shirt clutched to her face trying hard to breathe in the smoke.

The woman's eyes widened upon seeing the young spider smash through the door. There were tears streaming down her soot-covered cheeks, and there was a large bleeding gash on her leg.

A hero had to remain confident in the darkest situations. If Ruby showed fear then the people she was trying to save would be scared too. She had to pretend that she wasn't scared in order to reassure others.

"Everything is going to be just fine, let's get you out of here," Ruby reassured the terrified woman. Ruby gently helped the woman stand up on her injured leg. Walking over to a window, Ruby shattered the glass with one quick jab. She wrapped her left arm around the woman, and using her sticky hands, she held her tight to her side. The woman was taller than her so this would be tricky.

"Hold on tight," Ruby instructed the woman as she jumped out of the newly formed hole in the wall. Ruby would've been delighted at being able to breathe freely if it weren't for the situation she was in. The woman would've screamed if it weren't for her being able to barely breathe. Ejecting a web line at the building behind her, Ruby slowed their descent so no bones would break upon impact.

Landing softly, Ruby quickly guided the woman to a nearby ambulance. "Her leg is bleeding, also her lungs are likely filled with smoke, please take care of her." Ruby ignored the wide-eyed look of the doctor and jumped with all her might back into the burning building.

Running through the burning living room, Ruby smashed the door that led into the hallway. Expanding her Spider-Sense told her that the fifth floor was clear of any civilians. Ok time for the fourth floor. Ruby wanted to simply smash through the floor to get to the floor below her but an action like that might cause the entire building to collapse. She instead just located the staircase and jumped down it.

Smashing through another door revealed no civilians, once again trusting her Spider-Sense, she was directed toward a bathroom door to her right. Punching the door with a fraction of her strength blew the door straight off its hinges and left a fist-shaped dent where her fist landed.

She immediately discovered a family of three huddled in the bathtub. The husband looked to be about 30 and sported a pair of bunny ears on the crown of his head. The wife looked a little younger and appeared to be the only human in the group. The daughter appeared to be only 7 years old, with a smaller pair of bunny ears on her head.

They all screamed upon her arrival, clearly terrified about their situation. The little girl was bleeding from one of her bunny ears and had soot-saturated tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hello there. Yes, it's me, please hold your applause until after I save your life."

Her Spider-Sense buzzed lightly while directing her to the ceiling. It would likely collapse soon, she didn't have long.

Ruby ran over to the window and gripped the edges tightly before ripping the entire thing off the wall in one piece. Ruby directed the family towards her. "Ok, common let's get you down." The family was clearly reluctant but it's not like they had much of a choice.

"Please! Take our daughter first!" The husband pleaded to the vigilante.

"Of course." Ruby picked up the smaller fearful girl into her arms and secured her tightly with her sticky fingers. "Be right back." In one swift motion, Ruby launched herself and the young girl out of the flaming building and soared through the smoke-saturated air before landing safely on the pavement right in front of a paramedic.

"Special delivery just for you," she quipped while handing the crying girl to the paramedic.

"Please...save my mom and dad!" The girl pleaded in between coughs.

Ruby gave her a confident thumbs-up before launching herself back into the building.

"Who's next?"

The husband pushed his wife forward despite her protests. Ruby didn't waste a single second more before grabbing her and throwing them both out of the building and to safety right next to the injured daughter.

Two down, one to go.

Ruby was just about to launch herself back into the building and save the man before her Spider-Sense hammered her skull loudly. The room the man was in was starting to collapse. Ripping that window out of the wall must've removed some of the support.

Thinking very quickly, Ruby launched herself straight up into the air and aimed both of her wrists at the trapped man. If she screwed this up then there would be no second chances. Two thin strands of web ejected from her wrists and made a beeline for the man's torso. Her enhanced hearing picked up the creaking noise of the room's support failing.

The daughter and wife seemed to notice too as they released screams of fear at the man's imminent demise.

Fortunately for them, her aim was perfect and her webs landed directly on the man's chest. With a mighty tug, the man was yanked from the building the instant the wall gave out and almost crushed him. She might've given him minor whiplash but that was a small price to pay to keep his life.

She pulled the man into a tight bear hug as gravity took hold of their bodies and brought them back to the ground.

"That's a ten out of ten if I do say so myself."

Ruby handed the man off to the paramedics and into the waiting arms of his family. They would all be just fine without suffering any permanent damage.

Ruby directed her attention toward the flaming structure. Her Spider-Sense was still buzzing faintly, there were still survivors. Before she could launch back into the flames, she heard a desperate scream from her left.

"MY BABY!" Screamed a desperate mother that ran away from the paramedics and toward Ruby. "My baby's in there! Please save my baby!" She pleaded as she grabbed Ruby, tears were streaming down her cheeks and her eyes were bloodshot

"Which floor?" Ruby asked

"Third floor! Room 23!"

Ruby launched herself into a random window on the third floor, she didn't have a moment to breathe as and barreled through the burning apartment. This was what being a hero was all about, putting the lives of others before yourself. The smoke was starting to cloud her lungs. Luckily her Aura was protecting against burns but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Reaching the hallway, Ruby dashed down the hall until she located a burning door with the number 23 beside it. Kicking with way too much force, the door blasted off its hinges and crashed into the kitchen, destroying the flaming kitchen table in the process. She didn't need her Spider-Sense to know that the baby's room was the one where the crying was coming from.

Not wasting any time at all, Ruby blasted through the door into a nursery. She found a baby boy no older than four months old, crying his eyes out in a small cradle. Before she could pick up the boy, her Spider-Sense buzzed harder than it ever had before.

This building is gonna collapse. I gotta go NOW! Gently picking up the baby boy, Ruby ran toward the open window. Before she could jump out, the ceiling collapsed in front of it, blocking her path with flaming wreckage. "Oh nononono..." Clutching the baby tightly to her chest, she ran toward the opening where the door once was. Pushing all of her strength into her legs, Ruby ran as fast as she could toward the hall.

There was so much smoke on her face that she could hardly see, but luckily she didn't need to see for her Spider-Sense to work. It buzzed loudly right before Ruby jumped to the left to avoid the collapsing ceiling.

There was no other choice, Ruby ran toward the wall with all her might and while protecting the baby, smashed through it with her back. That's what did it, the building could no longer support itself without that wall, it collapsed into a heap of flaming wood and destroyed memories. Blackened ash covered her entire costume and her chrome lenses were stained black, making it much harder to see.

Acrid smoke rose up from the flaming wreckage with searing flame slowly eating away at whatever had remained.

But Ruby and the baby were safe. Ruby clung to a building that she had launched herself toward and finally took a moment to breathe.

Air had never tasted sweeter to Ruby. Despite it still smelling like smoke and ash, Ruby took several deep breaths. There was no taste sweeter than victory. Her Spider-Sense was calm, she did it.

She saved everyone.

After taking a moment to calm her rapidly beating heart. Ruby slowly slid down the building and made her way back to the chaos. The mother must've been worried sick, after seeing the building collapse, she surely thought the worst.

As expected, she rounded the corner to find the mother on her hands and knees sobbing, with a firefighter trying to comfort her.

"Hey!" Ruby called to the mother. She spun her head so fast it was a wonder she didn't snap her neck. "It's okay, your baby is fine." Ruby knelt down to hand the mother her son. The mother immediately trapped her son in a tight embrace.

"My son! My baby! You're ok! You're ok, you're ok!" The woman sobbed into her baby.

Ruby stood up and directed her attention to the flaming pile of rubble. That was the last of them, everyone made it out safely.

Everyone was staring at her and the cameras were trained on her too, this would no doubt be on the news tomorrow. Everyone talking about the new superhero that saved the day.

The relieved crying mother stared up at Vale's newest hero.

"Who are you?"

Ruby had been pondering this question for a long time, but she came up with a satisfactory answer. She decided that simple was the best. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"I'm Spider-Woman."

Spider-Woman jumped away from the chaos and swung home.


Climbing through her window, Ruby collapsed on the floor, completely and totally exhausted. She didn't expect her first night to be this intense. She expected to stop a mugger or two, but she never expected to save five people from a burning building.

Slowly standing up and walking to the mirror, Ruby found her suit was undamaged but was covered in ash.

"I should've seen this coming." Ruby thought miserably. "Whatever, I'll worry about it tomorrow."

Looking at herself in the mirror, Ruby finally let what happened tonight sink in.

"I'm a Super-Hero...I'm actually a Super-Hero!" Tears quickly gathered in Ruby's eyes, she didn't fight them, she allowed them to flow freely.

"Mom, I hope you'll be proud of me. I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I'll become the greatest hero, just like you."

Ruby slipped into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Her head didn't even touch the pillow before she fell asleep.


AN: I'm actually proud of this chapter. I worked hard on it, so please let me know how I did.